The Thing

Director John Carpenter has said that 1982's THE THING is his favorite among his resume.  It does seem like a personal film in some respects, with themes that remain salient even as Cold War fears are long in the past.  Or are they? That's another discussion.  Paranoia looms large in this story, screenwriter Bill Lancaster's take on the novella Who Goes There?, which was previously adapted as THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD in 1951. That film was somewhat marred by period hokiness and characters who just wouldn't stop talking.  This film suffers from characters who are not developed enough, perhaps merely "Thing" fodder, and that curse of unintentional humor, common in this genre.

I also can't help remembering the time I watched THE THING with my dad at home.  When the Norwegian helicopter pilot, who spends the opening moments of this movie firing rounds at a sled dog, jumps out and starts yelling in his native tongue, my father exclaimed his own anger.  The pilot's words were jibberish, not real Norwegian.  I never researched this, but then and now I can't believe a film that attempts to have some degree of scientific explanation couldn't bother to hire an interpreter/translator.

It becomes clear soon enough why the dog was in rifle sight.  After a day of curious and perhaps unusually observant wandering around a research station, it changes into a vile creature that spews tentacles and kills the other pups.  We learn that the "thing" is a very ancient alien whose spacecraft lodged into the Antarctica tundra a million or so years ago.  The Norwegians discovered and thawed it out, also learning that it mimics human and animal forms before destroying them.  I've heard that the 2011 remake/prequel details these events.

The team of disparate American researchers, led by Kurt Russell as Macready, spend the rest of THE THING wondering who is still human among them, and the stage for suspicions is set.  But the urgency has never been there for me.  While much is at stake (psychologically and otherwise) for these characters, the story seems content with a slasher film mentality.  We simply wonder who's gonna die next, and how.  The "how" is one of this movie's distinguishing features, and its nearly legendary scenes of gory metamorpheses are still quite incredible to watch.  Special effects/make up artist Rob Bottin creates stunning visuals, which still look better than the CGI slop we get these days.

Carpenter does solid work as usual, creating a great atmosphere of doom and utilizing some innovative framing.  Is his film scary? Somewhat.  Wince inducing at times? Yep.  Unfortunately, some silliness diluted the suspense for me.  One element: how characters comment on something onscreen that is patently obvious: "A door!".  Ennio Morricone's minimalist score is eerily perfect, despite its being nominated for a Razzie.  The cast, which includes Wilford Brimley, Richard Masur, and Keith David, are solid.  I think the dog might deserve an Oscar.   The only woman to be found is Adrienne Barbeau, heard as the voice of a computer chess game.  When it beats Macready, he pours whisky onto its circuits and calls it a "cheating bitch."  I hope this wasn't Carpenter's commentary on his then marriage to the actress.

THE THING was denounced during its original run, mainly for its relentless parade of slime and cynicism. The timing of its release (within weeks of E.T.) was also unfortunate.  The movie found its rabidly devoted audience later.  I've always mostly liked the movie, but today I find it wildly overrated.  Maybe I just want as much dramatic substance as I do oozing entrails.  But few can deny how great that blood test sequence is.